


I thought we were safe, till I looked at her hands

by pennedgalaxy



Series: The Frame [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5054932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennedgalaxy/pseuds/pennedgalaxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if during the storm, during their final moments together Max had had a revelation? What if she had seen a third choice buried beneath the fear of the storm and the fear of losing Chloe? What if she found a way to save both?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I thought we were safe, till I looked at her hands

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song [ Frame I: Betrayal In The Watchtower. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfq4aXf5CX0)
>
>>   
>  _I thought we were safe, till I looked at her hands._   
>  _The small of her back, the blood hit the sand._   
>  _I will always remember the calm in her voice as she said:_   
>  _"You must go this alone. I won't make it, my love._   
>  _My heart will grow tired, my legs will grow numb."_   
>  _And I knew it was true but I promised her she'd see the sun._   
> 

The tornado was like Hell transformed into harsh air and rain, like Armageddon given physical form. The rain slashed at the grey canvas of the sky, drenching skin and drowning the cries of the people down below. It was the end of the world, if only Max and Chloe’s, and the weight of choice and the burden of indecision rested on their shoulders.

Chloe looked to Max, her eyes intense and her voice full of emotion. “Max...It's time...” She told her, her hands resting on Max’s arms trying to reassure her, it was a comfort Max felt she didn’t deserve.

She shook her head, her wet bangs slapping against her forehead. “Chloe...I'm so, so sorry.” Max began, Chloe gave a tearful smile and pulled Max into an embrace. “I don't want to do this.” Max whispered into the nape of the other girl’s neck.

“I know, Max.” Chloe replied, her voice full of understanding. “But we have to. We have to save everybody, okay? And you'll make those fuckers pay for what they did to Rachel.”

Max stared silently at Chloe for a moment, her heart beating a frantic pace inside of her chest and her eyes were glazed over with tears that her body desperately wanted to shed.

“Being together this week…” Chloe started, her hands casually touching Max, hungry for every last bit of affection they could share at a time such as this, a time that could very well be their last together. “It was the best farewell gift I could have hoped for.”

Max wanted to stop her, wanted to tell Chloe that she shouldn’t have to say goodbye, shouldn’t have to sacrifice herself for a town that had never gave shit about her. 

“You’re my hero, Max.”

Max felt her emotions swell within her, her love for Chloe frothing to the surface like seafoam riding a tsunami. Her hands reached forward, shaking at the wrist and her fingertips colder than the death they seemed to dispense. Her hands cupped Chloe’s cheeks and, for what felt like an eternity, they stared into each other’s eyes, their gaze saying the unspoken and finally, _finally,_ when their lips touched the world seemed silent if only for a moment. The two of them trapped in a moment of mingling bliss and grief. 

The kiss was cold, their lips chilled by the rain, but all the same Max never wanted to let go, never wanted to stop holding Chloe in her arms. She wanted to whisk her away from Arcadia Bay, she wanted to give Chloe the life she had always deserved, she wanted to go asleep hearing her snore, and she wanted to wake up every morning to the sight of her sleeping softly next to her.

She didn’t want her to die.

They parted reluctantly, the air was warm between their lips and Max’s hand lingered in the air, before Chloe backed away to put distance between the two of them. They both knew just how easy it would be to sink into an embrace and never let go, Arcadia Bay be dammed.

“I'll always love you.” Chloe admitted, she had always been the braver of the two of them, forward and honest about her emotions.

Max opened her mouth wanting to tell Chloe what she meant to her, even if she already knew it Max wanted to tell her, but she couldn’t. Her mouth wouldn’t open and her teeth chattered when she tried, her tongue twisting in knots to get the words out, she couldn’t say it. Even after all this time she was chicken shit, even after two kisses, several near death experiences and the nightmarish events that had been the Dark Room, she still couldn’t say it. She still couldn’t tell Chloe she was in love with her.

“Now, get out of here, please! Do it before I freak.” Chloe pleaded, her footsteps taking her away from Max, but her eyes burned as they gazed at her, her stare searing into the time traveller’s soul. “And Max Caulfield? Don't you forget about me…” Her voice wavered and her hand stretched out, lingering as if she was wishing for one more touch.

She wouldn’t forget about Chloe, she’d remember Chloe always. She’d whisper her name in the dark just before every dream, she’d taste her name on the tip of her tongue for all eternity. She would remember the smell of her skin and the sound of her laugh until her dying day. “ _Never_.”

Max looked at the photo in her hand, it was a blue butterfly the colour of Chloe’s resplendent hair. It was a symbol of all she had been fighting for since the moment she had first held time in the palm of her hand, since the first time she had told destiny ‘no’ and realigned the stars for Chloe.

Max’s thoughts were swirling out of control, her mind rebelling against the thought of undoing everything she had tried so hard to do, killing the person she wanted to save. The surge of emotion, in its ferocity, was not unlike the storm riding into Arcadia Bay.

To lose the person she loved the most or to doom a town because of a love she couldn’t give up? What kind of choice was that? What kind of world would ask this of her? What kind of world would give her this power only to make her every choice cease to matter?

This, all of this, was her fault. _She’d_ fucked around with time, alternate dimensions, it wasn’t Chloe’s fault. Chloe shouldn’t have to die just because of Max’s decisions, just because of Max’s mistakes and stupidity.

If only there was some way to stop this before it all began, a way to save Chloe and Arcadia Bay. A way to save either, without losing those who were precious in return.

Her hands shook as she focused in on the photo, the butterfly shifted and swirled, the imagine crackling like pixels before her as eyes as time turned to black and with a blink of her eyes she was back in that bathroom again, back to where it had all began. Chloe’s life once again resting in her hands.

The picture fluttered to floor and she couldn’t find it in herself to care, she put the camera away and poked her head out to stare at the door, the handle jiggled and she ducked behind the stall.

“It’s cool, Nathan...” Began Chloe’s would-be killer, his voice strained and shaky. “Don’t stress, you’re okay, bro, just... count to three.”

“Don’t be scared. You own this school...” He paused and leaned both hands atop the sink, his palms clammy against the porcelain. “If I wanted, I could blow it up. You’re the boss.”

The door opened with a small creak and Max knew it was Chloe.

“So what do you want?” Nathan questioned, his tone one of frustration.

Chloe place a hand on one of the bathroom stalls and she gave a surveying look around. “I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say.” She remarked, pushing open the doors of the three stalls closest to her. She stopped and turned her attention back to Nathan, seemingly satisfied and sure that no one was listening in on their conversation. “Now, let’s talk bidness.”

“I got nothing for you.” Nathan replied, his mood at the cusp of deterioration.

Chloe moved away from the stalls, going back to where Nathan stood, boxing him in. “Wrong. You got hella cash.”

A lump formed in her throat, could she really do this? Hide behind a bathroom stall and let her friend die when she could do something about it? Could she really sacrifice Chloe for a town that would never know of Chloe’s bravery, her willingness to die to save them all?

If anyone should die, it should be Nathan or Jefferson or…

Max’s eyes widened, an idea forming in her head. This was her fault after all, it was only right she fix her mess. Her eyes narrowed, her pupils dilating when Nathan drew his gun.

“You don’t know who the fuck I am or who you’re messing around with!” Nathan exclaimed, his gun pointed at a shocked, fearful Chloe.

Max stepped forward. “Wait!” She exclaimed.

Nathan turned instantly, his gun moving to train on her. “Caulfield? What the hell are you doing here?!”

Chloe’s eyes widened, recognition apparent in the way she gaped at the other girl.

Max gulped. She didn’t want to do this but it was for the best, it was to save everyone. “I’m here because I know what you did, Nathan, I’m here because someone needs to reign you in.” Her words sounded oddly brave to her ears, surprising for a coward.

“Don’t _ever_ tell me what to do. I’m so _sick_ of people trying to control me!” He shouted, any trace of composure gone, having long since fled.

Chloe looked between Max and Nathan, she needed to distract Nathan or that bastard was going to do something stupid. “You are going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs.”

Nathan’s eyes sparked, a rage he couldn’t control flooding them. “Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, would they?”

This was it, if Max didn’t do anything now Chloe would die.

Max clenched her fists, tears building in her eyes. “Projecting, Nathan? We all know your parents don’t give a damn about you.”

“Shut up! _Shut up!_ You don’t know shit, Max!”

“I know you’re a sick little rich boy who gets his kicks dosing girls and taking pics!”

And as soon as the words left her mouth she knew it was over, she had, willingly, signed her own death warrant. As she expected, once the words sunk in, Nathan gave a feral growl and his finger flexed on the trigger. Chloe gave a scream as the gun went off, a bullet embedding itself in Max’s chest.

“Max!”

The two locked eyes as Max pressed a hand to her chest. “Chloe-” She gave a cut off gasp as she pulled her hand back, her palm was stained with blood. Her eyelashes fluttered before she collapsed.

Chloe pushed passed Nathan, not giving a fuck about the gun in his possession or his willingness to use it. All she cared about was the girl bleeding out on the bathroom tiling.

“Max!” She exclaimed as her left hand moved to put pressure on the wound, her right going to support the other girl’s head. “Oh fuck, Max.”

“Hey, Chloe…” Max replied, her eyes were half lidded as a glimpse of a soft smile spread across her face. She looked at Chloe with a solemn kind of fondness, and a certain kind of resignation was set in her features.

Tears beading at the corners of her eyes, Chloe shook her head. “Don’t ‘hey’ me, you can’t just say my name like that and...”

Max reached out, a hand coming to rest on top of Chloe’s shoulder. “Chloe, I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”

At that Nathan whimpered to himself in the background and stared at the girl he had just shot, his mind racing. He hadn’t meant to, he had just been so angry and she’d been mocking him. He’d shot Max Caulfield, his classmate, and, oh god, she was bleeding  _so much_. He curled in on himself, his body resting next to the very photo that had started everything.

“Max, don’t say anything, just breathe. Someone must’ve heard the gun shot, you’ll be okay.” She spared a glance to the door before looking back at Max, her face was angry, at who Max didn’t know. “You can’t leave me, you can’t leave me like _this_. We haven’t seen each other in _years_.”

“I know, Chloe.” Max told, her voice a whispery sigh. “I know and I’m sorry, this was the _only_ thing I could do.”

Chloe hissed as she felt the blood coming from her friend’s chest dampen her fingers, the pool of blood underneath her feet growing bigger. “Dammit, fucking dammit!”

Max’s eyes fluttered, the pain overwhelming her and her body becoming tense and cold. “I love you.” She admitted, for the first and last time. She closed her eyes, her body becoming dead weight in Chloe’s grasp and her hand falling from Chloe’s shoulder.

“Don’t fucking say that, don’t say that and leave me!” Chloe cried, her voice desperate as she shook Max, trying to get her attention. “Don’t die on me, Max, don’t you _dare_!” She continued, a sob tearing from her lips as Max flopped lifeless in her grasp.

“Don’t leave me…”

* * *

The light was a blinding white, but for some reason it didn’t burn her eyes. It made her feel warm, wanted in a way she couldn't describe, and she felt strangely at peace as she stared at the pearly gates in front of her.

She made to move forward but was stopped when, from behind, a hand came to clap her on the shoulder. “Oh, Max, you’re _so young_.” Remarked an all too familiar voice. “You saved my little girl, Max.”

Max gasped as she recognised the man in front of her, tears slid down her cheeks as she placed a hand atop his. “I couldn’t let her die, William, I _couldn’t_.”

William gave a sad smile. “You love her.” He told Max, his words weren’t even a question, they were a statement, it was true and it had _always_ been true. “God, I’m so sorry, Max.”

Max shook her head. “Don’t be.” She said, believing she had done the right thing. “I made my choice and I don’t regret it.”

William nodded, he understood the sacrifice Max had made, he was only sad the outcome had been so horrible, that Max had died to protect a town that would never know of her sacrifice, and his daughter who would never remember all the time they had spent together across all the different timelines. William sighed and pulled Max into a kind-hearted hug. “Sometimes there are no good choices. And the best choice among them? Is usually the saddest.”

Max gave reluctant laugh. “Don’t I know it?”

William cocked his head and gave a warm smile. “You’ve grown so much, Max. I’m so proud." He paused and gave the white expanse a glance. " _We’re_ all so proud of you.”

“We’re?” Max questioned, her eyebrows raising in confusion.

William gave a mysterious smile and before he could answer, or Max could ask, a female voice Max had never had the privilege of hearing, in life at least, spoke. “It’s nice to meet you, Max.” Max’s eyes widened as she turned to gaze upon the face of the newcomer. A girl was stood there, a girl whose image she knew all too well. She was just as beautiful as she had been in the fliers, just as beautiful as Chloe had described her.

A grin spread across Max’s face as stared at the girl she had always wanted to meet, the girl whose life had so deeply affected Arcadia Bay, if only through the people that had been left behind. “Hi, Rachel.” 

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a sequel, eventually, featuring Chloe and Warren dealing with what's happened and an explanation as to how this saved Arcadia Bay and Chloe.


End file.
